Yangzhou Attractions

Ge Garden, a classic Chinese rock and water composition, is filled with curiously styled pavilions ideal for a midday picnic. Its landscaped rocks are meant to suggest the four seasons and can be sensed with a sprinkling of imagination. From here it's a short walk to the Yangzhou City Museum, which had incorporated a series of assorted old pavilions into its charming grounds. One of China's better provincial museums, it includes a 1,000-year-old wooden boat recovered from the Grand Canal. Even older, is its centerpiece, a Han dynasty funeral suit made from 500 pieces of jade.

Right around the corner stands the Shi Kefa Memorial, a templedevoted to the memory of local hero ShiKefa. Toward the end of the Ming dynasty, hegave his life fighting against the encroachingQing armies. The victorious Qingsupposedly raised this memorial to him inhonor of his courage though it may as wellhave been to quiet their new subjects.

Moving towards the city center, students ofChina's Islamic past will be happy to find the Crane Mosque, the mainsurviving testament to the presence ofPersian traders in Yangzhou during theMiddle Ages. Simple, small and largelyunadorned save for one wall covered entirelywith Arabic script, it's a classic example ofIslamic architecture in China. In a similarvein is the Garden Tomb of Puhaddin, dedicated toa descendant of the prophet Muhammadwho came to China in the 13th century. Hespent ten years in Yangzhou and made thecity his adopted home, insisting on beingburied within its walls. An adjacent hallcontains paintings and artifacts depicting hislife.

Yangzhou's southern half has its own share of attractions. A true diamond in the rough is the He Garden. Built in the nineteenth century, this garden in miniature ingenuously employs trees, shrubs, and a raised walkway to give a sense of variety and depth. It's an ideal place for a sunny morning or sunset frolic. Several charming teahouses provide parched visitors with refreshment and ambiance.

A bit of a hike out of town but no less interesting is the Wenfeng Pagoda. Built in 1582, this large, seven-storey pagoda where Jian Zhen departed for Japan. Today it's more likely to be employed as a vista for viewing the intense activity on Yangzhou's canals and wharves.

IRREVERENCE & ENLIGHTENMENT IN YANGZHOU

Yangzhou's two major and most well-known tourist sites, Slender West Lake and Daming Temple, are located mercifully close to each other and are best taken in one fell swoop. Providing most of Yangzhou's tourist draw, they can be unbearably crowded on weekends yet outside of the peak hours they provide a marvelous window into Yangzhou's fabled charms. It's easy to walk from one site to the other, but to do it in style (and pay for it) there are tourist boats linking the sites. Modeled after dragon boats and replete with plush yellow interiors, they will cruise you up the lake and drop you off at the temple entrance.

Modeled after the much larger and more famous West Lake in Hangzhou, the Slender West Lake makes up in charm what it lacks in size. Winding through a stretch of park area, it's filled with water scenes and weeping willows.

Whimsical structures, meticulously crafted bridges and replicas of historic sites will keep your hands full for at least a few hours. There's a white dagoba modeled after the one in Beijing's Beihai Park.

Better known are the park's bridges, the most famous of which is the Five Pavilion Bridge built in 1757. Itsimposing triple arches and yellow tiled roofsare one of the most often photographed sitesin the park. A short stroll along the northbank of the lake leads you to the dazzling,though relatively new, Twenty-Four Bridges, named afterthe 24 posts used in the bridge's design.These arches culminate in an apex so highthat they nearly create a circle in order forboats to pass under. Though most of theancient bridges are now replaced by newconcrete ones, the bridge and canalatmosphere remain. A favorite spot forphoto-ops is a replica of Emperor Qianlong'sold fishing platform, which is locatednearby. Local tales hold that Qianlong'sservants would dive into the canal and hookfish on his line so that he, thinkingYangzhou had brought him luck, wouldallocate more funding to the town. Close byis the Happiness Terrace,with three moon gates each framingdifferent scenes.

For those more concerned with eternity than with life's fleeting joys, 1km north of the Slender West Lake stands the Daming Temple. Perched on a hilltop and occupying vast grounds, this temple was originally built in the 5^th century AD. Nowadays, it's experiencing a boom of patronage from Japanese Buddhists. Its centerpiece is a massive memorial built in 1973 to honor